A Typical Day

Learn More About the Wilderness Program at Four Circles

On a typical day, clients will engage in wilderness activities such as a camping and hiking, which help encourage the exposure of their authentic self. Participation in the wilderness allows clients to develop tools and strategies that promote long-term success through the following processes:

• Participating in individual and group therapy provided by dually-licensed Masters and Doctorate level clinicians
• Completing therapeutic assignments aimed at achieving treatment goals
• 12-Step meetings
• Utilizing newly acquired skills to cope with wilderness challenges
• Adhering to practices that raise awareness of impact on environment and others
• Demonstrating primitive life skills such as building fires and using bow drills

The wilderness environment serves as a metaphor for the challenges clients will face in life and helps them apply the knowledge they have gained into their own home environment. Living in nature gives clients a sense of belonging and an opportunity to experience authentic relationships on the common ground of shared pain, joy and recovery. Self-limiting beliefs are challenged by the guided accomplishments of mastering the physical and relational skills of living outdoors with a small group of fellow journeyers.

Learn about the Base in Four Circles Wilderness Program

The base component of our wilderness program is a therapeutic bridge between the wilderness experience and life outside of treatment. Clients are given an opportunity to integrate their wilderness therapy experience, apply their knowledge to a more familiar world, and practice those lessons in a structured environment. While at the base, clients experience their recovery in a setting that more closely resembles the daily life into which they will transition.

• Utilizing the 12-Step program to build a strong foundation for daily life
• Setting intention for the day during morning group
• Confronting old patterns of behavior that may reappear through this process
• Participation in individual therapy, group therapy, education groups, AA or NA meetings and service opportunities
• Scheduled visits with psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner as needed
• Reflection and processing of therapeutic assignments
• End of day reflection that allows for discussion of challenges and coping skills

Rites of Passage and Aftercare Planning

Prior to completion of treatment, clients participate in a one-week healing ceremony where they will engage in solo experiences that prepare them for the future. When this rite of passage ceremony is completed, clients return to base to work on aftercare planning, develop a Relapse Prevention Plan, and create a support system that will sustain the progress they have made.

Typical Therapies and Activities

On a typical day, not only will clients participate in the above listed activities and processes, but they will also be provided with the opportunity to utilize a variety of therapies including, but not limited to:

• Individualized treatment planning and therapy
• Individual, group, and family therapy
• AA/NA meetings
• Art therapy
• Martial arts
• Life skills training
• Psycho-educational skills training
• Meditation
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Motivational interviewing
• Experiential education
• Motivational enhancement therapy
• Career/vocational/psychological testing
• Gender-specific treatment
• Solution-focused therapy

With these therapies, Four Circles provides our clients the opportunity to work with licensed Master’s or Doctoral level clinicians who have extensive training and experience dealing with addiction and co-occurring emotional and behavioral issues. Our committed professionals recognize that substance abuse is often accompanied by both dual-diagnosis issues and underlying emotional challenges that must be addressed to ensure lasting recovery.